A Moment of Inspiration

Before entrepreneur Sara Blakely became one of the “Sharks” on the popular TV show Shark Tank, the founder of Spanx started her career selling fax machines door-to-door and then worked at Disney World as a performer.

However, it was her frustration with pantyhose that led her to start Spanx. She came up with the idea for footless pantyhose that wouldn't roll up or create visible lines under clothing.

Blakely invested her life savings of $5,000 into creating a prototype and began selling the product out of her apartment. Her breakthrough moment came on Oprah. For those that may not know, Oprah Winfrey and her daytime show Oprah was wildly influential before being an influencer was a thing. Oprah called out Spanx one of her favorite products in 2000. This introduced Spanx to new consumers and was a boon to sales.

Despite facing skepticism that women would not want to wear shapewear, Blakely persisted and grew her company to become a multimillion-dollar worldwide brand that sells a variety of clothing including clothing, swimwear, and even items for men, all with the Spanx shapewear feature.

She also gives back, having created the Sara Blakely Foundation, which supports female entrepreneurs and provides education and resources for women and girls around the world.

Blakely's story is an inspiration to the entrepreneurial character of persistence, innovation, and the not giving up on your dreams. Like other entrepreneurs she encountered challenges and setbacks but didn’t gave up on her dreams. Blakely is a famous entrepreneur and philanthropist making a difference in the world.